Gradient Group, Llc

What Gradient Group, Llc does

Gradient Group, LLC is a Houston, Texas-based, woman-owned civil engineering consulting firm founded in 2017 by Stephanie Anderson, P.E. and T. Wayne Holcombe. The firm delivers planning, engineering design, and construction support services across more than ten practice areas, including Roadway, Traffic & ITS, Site Development, Utility, Geospatial/GIS, Drainage, Pedestrian, Transit, Planning, and Community & Government Liaison. It serves a primarily public-sector client base, including the Texas Department of Transportation, City of Houston, Harris County, METRO, Houston First, Houston Housing Authority, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, and educational institutions such as Lone Star College and Lamar University, alongside private developers and architecture firms such as Gensler.

The firm's underlying technology stack is built on standard civil engineering platforms — AutoCAD Civil 3D, HEC-RAS, and ArcGIS (with cloud-based deployment on selected projects) — supplemented by a proprietary Detention Calculator offered as an online tool. Gradient holds TxDOT precertification (Firm Sequence #4126) and multiple certifications (HUB, DBE, WBE, SBE), which provide preferential access to set-aside public-sector contracts across multiple TxDOT districts.

Gradient earns revenue through professional services fees on project-based contracts awarded via competitive RFP and RFQ processes. Work spans transportation, municipal, transit, drainage, pedestrian/mobility, and site development projects, with marquee assignments including the $25M Lynn Wyatt Square civic plaza in downtown Houston and Harris County's first-ever Vision Zero Bike & Pedestrian Safety Study. The firm has earned ACEC Texas Engineering Excellence Gold Medal recognition and was named Bisnow's 2025 Innovator of the Year.

Name

Gradient Group, Llc

Legal name

Gradient Group, LLC

Website

https://gradient-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Engineering Consulting Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Geotechnical & Subsurface Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAB), Construction Management (Agency/Owner’s Rep) (IMAFAAAC)

Keywords

• Civil engineering consulting
• Transportation infrastructure design
• Stormwater drainage engineering
• Geospatial GIS services
• Site development engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Engineering Consulting Services: The firm generates revenue through fee-based professional engineering consulting contracts with government and private sector clients. Projects are typically awarded through competitive RFP/RFQ processes for municipal, county, and state government agencies. Services include planning, engineering design, and construction support billed on a per-project basis.
2. Civil Infrastructure Design Services: Revenue derived from planning, design, and construction of civil infrastructure projects including roads, traffic signals, buildings, water supply systems, and stormwater management. Services are provided to both public agencies and private developers on a project contract basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gradient Group, LLC is a woman-owned civil engineering consulting firm that delivers planning, engineering design, and construction support services for infrastructure and site development projects. The firm serves public sector agencies (municipalities, counties, TxDOT, METRO) and private developers through ten service practice areas: Roadway, Traffic & ITS, Site Development, Utility, Geospatial, Drainage, Pedestrian, Transit, Planning, and Community & Government Liaison. Services are provided on a per-project basis under contracts awarded primarily via competitive RFP/RFQ procurement.

Product overview

Gradient Group, LLC is a woman-owned civil engineering consulting firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of professional engineering services. Rather than a unified software product, the company delivers specialized consulting services organized by discipline: Roadway, Traffic & ITS, Site Development, Utility Engineering, Geospatial/GIS, Drainage, Pedestrian Facilities, Transit Planning, Planning, and Community & Government Liaison. The firm also offers a Detention Calculator tool for project sizing. Services span the full project lifecycle from planning and design through construction support, serving both public sector agencies and private clients across Texas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Roadway Engineering Services Comprehensive roadway engineering including route studies, schematic design, design development, construction management, and inspection for state and municipal projects (TxDOT precertified).
• Traffic & ITS Engineering Services Traffic engineering studies, signal timing, traffic control systems design, ITS analysis and implementation, signing and pavement marking, and signalization for government and private clients.
• Site Development Engineering Services Civil site engineering including grading, drainage, utility design, and permitting for commercial, residential, institutional, and municipal developments.
• Utility Engineering Services Utility coordination, adjustment, and relocation engineering for water mains, sanitary sewer, and franchised utilities on public infrastructure projects.
• Geospatial/GIS Services GIS services including data management, enterprise deployment, mobile solutions, asset management, and drone/field data collection with 25+ years of experience.
• Drainage Engineering Services Hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, watershed modeling, flood control design, detention design (including innovative underground vault and raintank systems), and stormwater management.
• Pedestrian Facility Design Services Bicycle and pedestrian safety studies, sidewalk design, hike and bike trail design, and multi-use path planning for improved mobility.
• Transit Planning Services Public transportation systems planning including rail preemption, bus rapid transit station preliminary design, managed lane design, and conceptual station layouts.
• Transportation & Infrastructure Planning Services Transportation and infrastructure planning including corridor planning, comprehensive planning, mobility planning, Vision Zero planning, and public involvement.
• Community & Government Liaison Services Political liaison services bridging engineering communities with elected officials, including legislator outreach, public policy development, and funding strategy.
• Detention Calculator Online Tool Web-based tool that helps developers determine detention sizing requirements for site projects through a three-step process involving form completion, site plan upload, and Gradient Group team review.

Quantifiable outcome

• Civil engineering work on Lynn Wyatt Square earned top recognition at ACEC Texas Engineering Excellence Awards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Houston FirstcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGradient Group provided civil engineering for the Lynn Wyatt Square (Jones Plaza) Redevelopment project in partnership with Houston First, the City of Houston, and the Downtown Redevelopment Authority. The $25 million project involved 1.5 acres of civic plaza in downtown Houston's Theater District.
• GenslercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGradient Group was selected to work with Gensler architects on the Tabor Street Affordable Housing project, designing civil/site engineering and underground detention for a 7-unit affordable housing project on a 0.23-acre constrained infill site.
• TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTxDOT has precertified Gradient Group (Firm Sequence #4126) for extensive engineering work categories including roadway design, traffic engineering, utility coordination, hydraulic studies, and construction management across multiple TxDOT districts including Houston and Yoakum.
• Government Agencies (Cities, Counties)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGradient Group serves as a civil engineering consultant to municipal and county government agencies including City of Houston, Harris County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, and various municipal utility districts. Firm holds multiple government certifications enabling set-aside contract participation.
• City of Spring ValleycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGradient Group led civil design for Spring Valley Medical Plaza requiring coordination with City of Spring Valley and TxDOT for site design, permitting, and underground detention using raintank systems.
• Lamar UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGradient Group provided infrastructure design for Lamar University Science & Technology Building, including water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, grading, ADA compliance, and utility coordination with MEP team and existing underground tunnel systems.
• American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Houston ChaptercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCEO Stephanie Anderson serves as president of ACEC Houston Chapter, providing thought leadership and visibility within the engineering community. The firm has received ACEC Texas Engineering Excellence Awards recognition.
• Harris County Commissioners CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected by Harris County Commissioners Court to lead the first-ever Harris County Countywide Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Study, as well as the Countywide Vision Zero Action & Implementation Plan to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2030.
• Houston Housing AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected by Houston Housing Authority to lead civil/site engineering for Forest Green Townhomes Complex rehabilitation, performing preliminary drainage investigation and flood mitigation planning to address flood events.
• Galveston CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContracted by Galveston County to facilitate Pelican Island Bridge funding strategy and redevelopment agreement among Galveston County, City of Galveston, TxDOT, Navigation District, and Texas A&M University at Galveston. Worked with US Congressman and state officials on funding strategy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• WSP USA: International professional services firm with Houston-based transportation, infrastructure and environmental practices; competes on larger public-sector infrastructure programs where Gradient may be a subconsultant.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with major Texas practice serving TxDOT and Harris County; broad incumbent with overlapping transportation, drainage, and planning capabilities that competes for the largest civil engineering contracts in the region.
• HDR Inc. Global engineering and architecture firm with deep transportation and water practices; competes with Gradient for TxDOT, Harris County and City of Houston civil engineering contracts at the larger end of project scale.
• Kimley-Horn: National full-service engineering, planning and consulting firm with a substantial Houston office serving TxDOT, cities and counties; a broader incumbent that competes for the same public-sector civil engineering contracts Gradient pursues.
• Burns & McDonnell: Large employee-owned engineering firm with significant presence in transportation, water and site development in Texas; competes on larger TxDOT and municipal infrastructure pursuits where Gradient serves as subconsultant.

Direct peers

• Halff Associates: Employee-owned Texas engineering firm offering transportation, water, infrastructure and land development services; similar regional focus and heavy public-sector client base make it a direct comparable in size and offerings.
• Pape-Dawson Engineers: San Antonio-headquartered civil engineering consulting firm providing site development, transportation, water resources and surveying services across Texas; directly comparable to Gradient in service portfolio, Texas-only footprint, and government-client orientation.
• Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN): Texas civil engineering consultancy with deep municipal and TxDOT practice across roadway, drainage and water/wastewater; comparable to Gradient on full-service civil engineering and government client model.
• Freese and Nichols: Texas-headquartered engineering firm focused on water resources, transportation, and infrastructure planning; directly comparable specialty in stormwater/H&H work where Gradient's detention expertise overlaps.
• LJA Engineering: Texas-based, employee-owned civil engineering and surveying firm with strong municipal and TxDOT practice; closely comparable to Gradient on service mix (transportation, drainage, site) and public-sector client base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/gradientgroupllc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gradient-group-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gradient Group, Llc